Dye weighs in on trade rumours

The Detroit News's Dave Dye discussed Adrian Dater's suggestion that the Red Wings are pursuing either Colorado Avalanche winger Ian Laperriere and/or Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gary Roberts. Dye finds the fact that both Laperriere and Roberts injured Nicklas Lidstrom and Johan Franzen, respectively, ironic in the Alanis Morrisette sense of the term (darkly humourous as well as unexpected):

February 26, Detroit News: Laperriere is the type of physical forward the Wings might like to add before next Wednesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline. But he is also the guy who took a run at and injured captain Nicklas Lidstrom last season. Aaron Downey then became a hero in Detroit by fighting Laperriere.

[Dater's] report also identified Tampa Bay's Gary Roberts as a player who could interest the Wings. Roberts, you'll recall, took a cheap shot against Johan Franzen during the Stanley Cup Finals when Franzen was just coming back from a head injury.

Laperriere and Roberts don't compare with Claude Lemieux, that's for sure. But they've certainly been a little despised by some Red Wings fans since those incidents.

Frankly speaking, if I had to choose between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the decision would be particularly difficult as both players tend to take stupid penalties on a regular basis...But the 43-year-old Roberts possesses more speed, a Wings-like dedication to fitness, and he tends to keep his mouth shut and let his vicious physical play do the talking. Laperriere shoots his mouth off to the detriment of both himself and his team, and that lack of self-control concerns me.

There are a few other details which also suggest that Roberts may be a safer bet:

1. The Red Wings attempted to sign Roberts when he chose to leave the Carolina Hurricanes for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of the 1999-2000 season, but Roberts preferred playing for his childhood favourite team former Flames teammate Joe Nieuwendyk...

2. He'd take less to acquire. Some still view the 35-year-old Laperriere as a player with 20-goal potential who has a good five years left, while Roberts is seen as a player who's "at the end of the line."

February 26, Spectorshockey.net: Dater suggests any deal between the Wings and Avs involving Laperriere could be a long shot given the history between the two clubs. Laperriere would certainly be a better pickup for the Wings than Roberts, who has a great reputation but is on his last legs as an NHL player.